Mike Ryan's Pikes Peak Freightliner Crashes in Practice

Big rigs don’t usually make for competent drift machines - that is unless you’re Mike Ryan, owner and driver of the #777 Freightliner racing truck. Though it appears Ryan suffered a fairly substantial accident in practice for the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, which will end his weekend before it even begins.
According to Autoblog, Ryan suffered oversteer while taking an aggressive left-hand turn on the lower portion of the course used for qualifying. Both Ryan and his Freightliner took a dive of at least 50 feet down a ridge, but luckily Ryan appears to be okay following the accident. Going into Sunday, it looks like he'll be riding a Triumph motorcycle.
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Emergency rescue staff made it to the scene quickly, and although Ryan confirmed he is uninjured, the same can’t be said about #777. Judging by photos, the Freightliner took a heavy impact to the front-right portion of the truck, ripping off the right wheel and suspension assembly, bashing the front grille, and undoubtedly bruising Ryan’s confidence.
Ryan started his career as a stuntman in Southern California at age 18, and would go on to work on such films as The Italian Job, Training Day, Swordfish, and Terminator II. His companion, the #777, sports a Freightliner chassis and a 14.0-liter Detroit Diesel 60 series that pumps out 2,000-horsepower.

Ryan has been racing Freightliner trucks at Pikes Peak since 1997, has tackled Mount Washington’s Climb to the Clouds, drifted with Tanner Foust at Laguna Seca, and even done a series of gymkhana-style videos called ‘Size Matters’.
We hope the #777 gets back on its feet soon.
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